5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
|branch = |type = Territorial Infantry |role = Home Defence |size = Battalion |command_structure = 2nd (Southeast) Infantry Brigade|garrison_label = Battalion Headquarters|garrison = Canterbury, Kent}}The 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment was a territorial infantry battalion of the British Army which was formed in 1966 and later redesignated in 1992 as the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. The battalion was finally disbanded in 1998 following the 1998 Strategic Defence Review. History Service in the Queens The battalion was first formed in 1967 following the 1966 Defence White Paper many new "large" regiments were formed. Following this white paper, the Territorial and Volunteer Reserve was formed as part of the reduction of the former Territorial Army. Within this new force, the group was divided into the following groups; * TAVR I: Special Units, known as the "Ever Readies", special TA units * TAVR II: TAVR units with a NATO role, known collegially as the "Volunteers", units given the sub-title of (V) or (TA). * TAVR III: TAVR units with a home defence role, most only cadre units, collegially known as the "Territorials", units given the sub-title of (T) * TAVR IV: Bands, UOTC, and other "non-regular" units One of the new large regiments that was formed was The Queen's Regiment formed from the amalgamations of the TA battalions of Home Counties Brigade. Following this amalgamation, the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment was formed and organised as follows; * Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Canterbury, Kent (from 4th Battalion, The East Kent Regiment (Buffs)) * A (Queen's Surreys) Company, Guildford (from 3rd Battalion, The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment) * B (Queen's Own Buffs) Company, Broadstairs (from 5th Battalion, The East Kent Regiment (Buffs)) * C (Cinque Ports) Company, Hastings (from 4th/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment) * D (Middlesex) Company, Hornsey (from 5th Battalion, The Duke of Cambridge's Own Middlesex Regiment) In 1969 the territorial elements of the Territorial and Volunteer Reserve was significantly reduced, so as a result the battalion was re-organised as follows; new units formed from disbanded TAVR III: E Company in Tonbridge with platoon in Maidstone from the 8th (Territorial) Battalion, The Queen's West Kent Regiment, A Company formed platoons in Kingston and Hounslow, B Company formed platoons in Deal and Folkstone, C Company formed a platoon in Eastbourne, and D Company formed a platoon in Edgeware. In 1970 the TAVR was again reduced, so E Company formed a new platoon in Crawley from former B Company, 8th (Territorial) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment. In 1971 the battalion saw a major reorganisation as follows; platoons reorganised, B Company formed addition platoon in Deal, Edgware platoon from D Company transferred to A Company of the 6th (Volunteer) Battalion, Crawley platoon of E Company transferred to C Company of the 7th (Volunteer) Battalion, and a new platoon in E Company was formed in Sevenoaks. On 8 October 1973 all companies except for C (Cinque Ports) Company removed their company subtitles. In 1975, the 1975 Mason Review was announced, and the rest of the cadre regiments were disbanded and absorbed into regiments and battalions which already existed. As a result the following occured; * B Company formed platoon in Folkestone from part of the old B Company of the 7th (Volunteer) Battalion * D Company in Hornsey amalgamated with A Company of the 6th (Volunteer) Battalion to form B Company in the new 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion In 1981, "The Way Forward, 1981 Defence White Paper" was announced which re-formed the TA, and army overall to be more NATO focused and have a more TA support focused move. Following this reform, Kingston platoon of A company transferred to the 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion, and the battalion was reroled as a Home Defence Security battalion covering the ports of the south-east coast. Finally in 1992 following the Options for Change reforms, brought about by the fall of the Soviet Union and concurrent end of the Cold War, the battalion was retitled as the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. During this redesignation, E Company merged into A Company. Service in the PWRR In 1992 the Options for Change was announced following the end of the Cold War and concurrent Fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. These changes completely disbanded the British Army of the Rhine and 1st (British) Corps both based in West Germany. On 9 September 1992 the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion was formed following the formation of the new regiment, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment which was formed following the amalgamation of The Queen's Regiment and The Hampshire Regiment. Following this amalgamation, the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment was re-designated under this new regiment and under the same battalion title within the new regiment. Following their formation, the regiment was organised as follows; * Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters (Albuhera) Company, Canterbury, Kent (From HQ and B Company of 5 QUEENS) ** Assault Pioneer Platoon, Dover, Kent * A (Anzio) Company, Guildford, Surrey (From A Company, 5 QUEENS) ** Cobham Platoon, Surrey * B (Kohima) Company, Gillingham, Kent (From E Company, 5 QUEENS) ** Maidstone Platoon, Kent * C (Cinque Ports) Company, Hastings, Sussex (From C Company, 5 QUEENS) On 1 July 1999 the battalion was disbanded and merged with the 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion to form the new 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. HQ Company was re-designated as HQ (The Buffs) Company and C (Royal West Kent) Company, with the remainder of the battalion disbanded. References * Mills, T.F. 5th (V) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment and The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. regiments.org. Archived on 18 December 2007 from the Original. Retrieved 22 December 2019 * Drenth, Wienand. The Territorial Army 1967-2000 (pdf). (2000). p.126 Eindhoven, Kingdom of the Netherlands. Retrieved 20 December 2019 Category:Battalions of The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Category:Territorial battalions of The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Category:Territorial infantry battalions of the British Army Category:Infantry battalions of the British Army Category:Military units and formations established in 1992 Category:Military units and formations established in 1967 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1992 Category:Military units and formations established in 1999